


Third Chances

by twitchtipthegnawer



Category: Pandora Hearts
Genre: Fluff, M/M, the underaged tag isn't strictly speaking true but y'know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 20:54:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6093753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twitchtipthegnawer/pseuds/twitchtipthegnawer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set shortly after Oz's return from the Abyss early in the manga; so much time has passed, but some things don't seem to ever change. Gil, for example, because as much as he looks different now the way he stares at Oz hasn't changed one bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Third Chances

When Oz was fifteen, he knew what he liked. Slender bodies, narrow shoulders and bodies androgynous with youth, hands smaller than his own. He wasn’t shy about it, either, and he’d delighted in letting people know when he thought they were beautiful. Each reaction, from embarrassment to pride, was something new and fun for him. Of course, none were as fun as Gil’s; the boy could turn such a vivid red that the maids frequently thought he was ill. Of course, with Gil it was only teasing, and while it was true that Oz found him beautiful it was also true that Gil was a friend, first and foremost, and Oz valued him more for that than he ever could for his physical appearance.

At twenty five, though, things were a bit more complicated. Perhaps what complicated them was the fact that Oz still felt twelve, or perhaps it was simply that it was Gil who was complicating things. Whatever it was, though, Oz found himself puzzling the problem over in his mind, wondering.

It wasn’t that his tastes had completely changed. He still found Sharon more than a little attractive, albeit in a somewhat frightening way now. Alice, too, was pretty, once he got over her caustic personality (and the fact that she was a Chain). But then there was the exception to his rule, all the more infuriating for the way he seemed to be totally oblivious to it.

Gil had always had a sort of talent for being oblivious, which only made it worse. If he’d really changed, if he’d only look at Oz as a child or as a member of a competing family or as an illegal contractor, then maybe Oz wouldn’t feel this way. Instead, Gil was still Gil, down to the way he shook when he saw cats, and the way he blushed when Oz casually mentioned that he was beautiful. Sure, he might not shake quite so hard anymore, and he might flush more pink than scarlet now, but it was still Gil.

And because it was Gil, Oz had the courage to do what he was about to do. At fifteen, he might not have had it, but now was one of the times when it was more convenient for Oz to think of himself as twenty five. An adult could do this, so he could do this. Gil walked into the room, his head down to read the papers he clutched in both hands, wavy hair falling around his face in a convenient curtain so he couldn’t see Oz coming.

In one smooth movement Oz had caught his cravat, forcing Gil’s spine to suddenly bow low, his hands coming down and papers fluttering to the ground. Their lips met smoothly, allowing Oz to feel a flash of pride at how well he’d orchestrated this (never mind that, truthfully, a lot of it was luck). Though it was chaste, the kiss made his heart pound in his chest, and when he pulled back and took in the dazed look on Gil’s face it only beat harder. Oz decided that he didn’t care whether or not Gil was his usual type, so long as he got to see that face.

***

When Gil was fourteen, he knew what he liked. Cooking, when he was allowed to do it, and quiet moments in the sun, and Oz when he looked studious, and Oz when he protected Gil, and Oz when he was sad but confided in Gil anyway. Gil also knew what he didn’t like, the teasing and the “you’re so cute” that never meant quite what Gil wanted it to, because Oz wasn’t an immature child who got crushes like Gil was.

As the years wore on his lists got longer, both things he liked and things he disliked. The feeling of getting six bullseyes in a row, Vincent when he reminded Gil that he was a big brother now, the hope of saving Oz. The look on Break’s face when he teased Gil, the feeling of a Chain nearby, Oz being gone. Gil didn’t think too hard on this, though, until the best and the worst happened, and Gil got Oz back- only to find he’d be losing him again soon.

All of a sudden every missed second was acute in his heart, hairline fissures he couldn’t figure out how to fix. He found himself wishing that Oz had been there to see Gil grow, and every time he saw the body, so much smaller than his own now, he felt indescribably frail. For all that had changed, he still loved Oz, and he was almost certain now that he always would. That did not help one bit.

What also didn’t help was how busy Gil was, now. When he’d been young he’d been able to devote himself to Oz, though at the time he hadn’t realized how much he valued that freedom. Now Pandora and the Nightrays pulled at him, playing tug of war, heedless of the way they risked trampling Oz underfoot (and Alice, Gil supposed, though she wasn’t his priority, and he did feel a bit guilty about that, but mostly he just missed Oz).

So when he walked into his apartment, nose buried in that ceaseless paperwork he despised, and found himself suddenly kissed by the same boy who seems so endlessly carefree and innocent, Gil could do nothing but stare. Eventually Oz pulled back slightly, licking his own lips and grinning that horrible, sadistic grin that Gil always used to fear. What curls in his gut, however, isn’t fear.

“You taste like mint,” Oz commented, childish voice pitched low to accommodate how close their faces still were. Gil’s back was starting to hurt, but he found he didn’t mind. “Don’t you want to find out what I taste like, Gil?”

He did, more so than he should. He said as much when his lips met Oz’s again, and this time they didn’t part for a long, long time. Oz, thankfully, had no complaints about this. On the contrary, he seemed content to keep his hold on Gil’s clothing and never release him. It was a confinement that suited Gil just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been looking at Pandora Hearts again lately, and I have to say, it's nice to return to an old otp!! As always, any comments would be endlessly appreciated :"")


End file.
